The Third Battle of Krithia began at noon on a sunny, breezy 4 June and was the result of a joint initiative between Hunter-Weston and the newly-arrived (15 May) French commander Henri Gouraud.  Gouraud's working relationship with the British was notably stronger than the predecessor he replaced, General d'Amade.  During the course of his service at Gallipoli the recklessly courageous Gouraud was to break both legs and lose an arm (moving King George V to send a telegram of consolation to Hamilton).

Preceded as usual by an ineffective shrapnel bombardment from eighteen-pounder artillery the Allied attack made early gains, particularly from the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division to the British right.  The French - to the extreme right - struggled in particular. The attack was launched in two waves: the first intended to capture the Turkish front line with the second promptly leap-frogging them.  Within 90 minutes of the attack's commencement the only effective progress had been made by 42nd Division in the centre: the Allied flank attacks had been repelled.

At this stage Hunter-Weston and Gouraud agreed to commit reserve battalions to re-attempt the flank attacks rather than to exploit the 42nd Division's success in pushing to within a kilometre of Krithia village. Nevertheless the overall attack was once again largely thrown back by a determined Turkish defence commanded by attached German officer Liman von Sanders.  Allied gains were minimal and - as usual - at significant cost: some 6,500 additional casualties (4,500 British, 2,000 French).  Turkish losses were estimated at between 9,000-10,000.